The Panda Myth
by lostangel007
Summary: [Pandamonium!] A story about the 80's cartoon Pandamonium, which was about three pandas searching for mystical pyramid pieces.
1. What the Darkness Holds

Pandamonium, Chapter One, What the Darkness Holds  
  
Hello, this is a story written strictly for entertainment for the few people who may remember "Pandamonium." This is not going to be a epic or anything, just a simple short little story-I just want to keep the memory of a long-forgotten cartoon alive and well for the few those who watched it and liked it. I don't own "Pandamonium," Marvel does. No infringement is intended. Warning: This may turn out to be Mary-Sueish so if you really don't like Mary Sue's then you may not want to read any further..  
  
It was a perfect night so it seemed. Or as perfect a night could be for two teenagers, Peggy and Peter Darrow, and their panda pals, Chesty, Timothy, and Algernon, as they continued their seemingly never-ending search for the pieces of the mystical pyramid of power.  
  
Why was it a perfect night? Well, the moon was shining high in the star sprinkled sky; the weather was crisp and warm, with just a slight breeze every now and then, but most of all:  
  
"There's been no sign of Mondraggor for awhile," observed Peggy, as the five of them walked along the dirt path in front of them, going towards the huge mountains in the distance.  
  
Peter walked alongside his sister, as the pandas lagged behind them. "Yeah, but we cannot let our guard down," and then lowered his voice to a whisper.  
  
"He could be up to something. So we have to continue to be careful." Peter then turned to the pandas behind them. "Right, fellas?"  
  
Chesty, the self-appointed leader of the three, answered. "Right, Peter-but don't you worry, Peggy-I think Mondraggor learned he can't mess with us. Especially me," Chesty pointed to himself on the chest, he was extremely proud of himself. Peggy and Peter both rolled their eyes and smiled at each other.  
  
"Hey Algernon, let's take a look at that map." Peter had stopped, and was looking around, not sure to where they where at the moment.  
  
"Okey-dokey," Algernon scratched himself, and reached for his panda pouch, which was where he somehow kept most of the group's belongings.  
  
"Let's see here." Algernon emptied the contents of his panda pouch onto the ground-candy, books, cassette tapes, coffee grounds, girly magazines, (Algernon blushed at seeing the magazines, and quickly stuffed them back in his pouch.), keys, flowers, a map.  
  
"Hold it!" Peter grabbed the map off the ground, shook it off, and then opened it to learn of their destination.  
  
As Peter and Peggy puzzled over the map, the three pandas talked amongst themselves.  
  
"I don't like it here-something seems-not right." Timothy, the coward of the group shivered as he glanced towards the distant mountains.  
  
"Oh, will you stop! You say that about just every place we go to." Chesty dismissed Timothy's reluctant thoughts.  
  
"I don't see this place on the map at all," said Peggy, a little nervousness in her voice.  
  
It was then, as if on cue, that the group heard a noise, only a few feet away from them-like something was walking towards them.  
  
"Who's there?" inquired Chesty.  
  
"Yipe!" Timothy hid behind Chesty and Algernon, and peered out from behind both of them, into the darkness. "What if it's M-M-Mondraggor?"  
  
Peter frowned, and stepped forward. "Who's there? Show yourself" he demanded. The group noticed there was nervousness in Peter's voice as well.  
  
The group all held their breath as whomever or whatever it was in the darkness came forward. 


	2. The Lost Girl

Pandamonium, the Panda Myth, Chapter Two: The Lost Girl  
  
The gang stared at whatever was in the darkness, until "whatever" it was coughed. Peter let out a breath. It sounded like a human cough, in fact, one of a.girl? And then she came forward, a young, pretty girl about nineteen, or so, maybe in her early twenties..she seemed to be shaking a little as she studied the group in her path. She then fell to her knees, but did not take her eyes from the pandas-she was watching them intently, and Peter noticed she didn't seem to even notice him or his sister at first. She put her hand to her forehead, as if in pain...  
  
Peter and Peggy then went at once to the girl's side, while the three pandas hung back a little, watching the girl curiously. They knew by experience they had to be careful with what humans they trusted, not all humans where like Peter and Peggy.  
  
"Hey-are you all right?" Peter asked gently.  
  
The girl looked up to him with brilliant blue eyes that seemed to be on the verge of tears. She looked back at the pandas.  
  
"Yes. I think so. At least now I am?" the girl spoke as if asking a question. She looked back at Peter, and dusted her jeans off, and then made an attempt to stand up. She shook a little, but managed. Peter and Peggy both took her arms. She shook her head, and looked back at the pandas, who where still watching.  
  
"Are they-yours?" she asked almost dreamily of the two.  
  
Peggy looked back at Chesty, Algernon, and Timothy.  
  
"Oh, the pandas? Well, they are our-traveling companions. We're all on a journey together-you see, we are looking for something."  
  
Peggy was about to go on, but noticed the girl looked distant.  
  
"So was I."  
  
Peggy looked at her brother, who was every bit as puzzled as she was.  
  
"What are you doing way out here? Are you hurt? I think you should sit down- "  
  
The girl nodded, and sat right where she was on the dirt. The pandas came a little bit closer now, to inspect the new human. Peter and Peggy sat down with her, not minding the dirt.  
  
"My name is Cali." The girl looked around at her new friends and smiled weakly.  
  
It was Chesty who spoke next.  
  
"But where do you come from?"  
  
Algernon then steeped forward and shyly held out a fresh, new bamboo shoot. Cali smiled at him but did not take it.  
  
"Let me tell you all a story." 


	3. The Unwanted Visitor

Pandamonium, Chapter Three: An Unwanted Visitor  
  
The group gathered around a campfire, they had set up camp very quickly, and now they looked to Cali as they sat, ready for her story. Cali was staring into the fire.  
  
"Uh, Cali? Are you going to tell us your story?" Chesty asked as he could not take the suspense any longer; the girl was just sitting there, looking into the fire, not even seeming to notice any of them!  
  
Cali looked to him, seemingly embarrassed. "Oh, I'm sorry."  
  
She then stood up, and put clutched her arms around her, even though the night air was still warm. She was silent for a moment, but then spoke to the group:  
  
"You'll have to excuse me-I have not been myself lately. So please forgive me if I seem distant." She laughed a little, now looking at the ground.  
  
"I'm really not crazy you know. But I know it must seem that way to you guys." She snuck a look back at them. "It's just that it all happened so fast."  
  
"It's okay." Peggy smiled at her, now even more curious as to what Cali's story was. Peter was as well, but he could tell that Cali was uneasy by whatever happened.  
  
"You can tell us when you're ready."  
  
The six where silent for a moment, but interrupted by Algernon, who was roasting sticks over the fire. Chesty took notice of him.  
  
"Algernon, you dunce, you need marshmallows to do that."  
  
"Oh, you're right, Chesty. Hmmm-let me see. I think I'm out of marshmallows." Algernon looked at Cali, who was watching the pandas admiringly.  
  
"Do you have any marshmallows on ya?"  
  
Cali shook her head no, and smiled at him.  
  
"Aw, shucks. Well, fellas, I guess where just gonna have sticks tonight," and Algernon began to nibble on his roasted branch.  
  
Chesty grabbed the stick away from Algernon. "You idiot, the only marshmallow around here is you're head."  
  
Chesty threw the stick off into the bush. A low growl was then heard, from the direction of the bush. All six heard the noise, and turned to look at the bush. There was a pair of glowing, angry eyes that looked frighteningly familiar.  
  
"O-oh," Timothy began to shake, and pulled his red hat down over his eyes.  
  
Peter jumped up. "It's-"  
  
"Mondraggor." Cali finished Peter's sentence, and he looked at her with surprise, almost forgetting about the evil being a few feet in front of him, but only for a second. Peggy jumped up.  
  
"Come on, let's get out of here!"  
  
Peter, Peggy, and the pandas, all jumped to their feet, and began to run. Peter looked to make sure Cali was with them, but did not see her. His heart skipped.  
  
"Where's Cali?"  
  
"She ran on ahead of us," Peggy pointed in front of them.  
  
Peter's thoughts where swirling in his mind as he ran. How did Cali know Mondraggor? Peter looked back over his shoulder, to Mondraggor.  
  
The hooded villain did not chase them; he just stood and watched them, giving Peter the creeps.  
  
They kept on running until they came to a cave. Chesty stopped short, causing the others to bump into him.  
  
"Ow! I saw Cali go in here-"Chesty looked to see if Mondraggor was about.  
  
"It's clear. Let's go."  
  
The five of them entered the cave, and Chesty let out a cry as he fell to the ground.  
  
"Something tripped me."  
  
"Oh! I am so sorry." It was Cali. She reached her hand out to help Chesty up. Peter lit a match, instantly illuminating the cave. He saw that Cali was sitting on the ground, her blue eyes filled with tears.  
  
"Cali.?"  
  
Cali wiped at her tears.  
  
"I just wish I could forget." 


	4. The Markings

Pandamonium, The Panda Myth, Chapter 4, The Markings  
  
Authors note: The actual panda myth I'm writing about in this chapter is NOT my original idea, but based on an ancient myth that I once read about, and thought was very cool...  
  
Peggy put her hands on her hips, now getting impatient with Cali.  
  
"Forget what?"  
  
Cali looked up to her, and then wiped at her tears with the back of her hand, and picked up a stick which had been laying a few inches from her. She stood up, her eyes focused on the mystified group in front of her, and took a deep breath, and then turned to the cave wall, and began to etch something into it. She stepped back, so the group could see what she had drawn: A crude, child-like drawing of a..panda? But it had no markings.  
  
"Once, pandas had no markings." Cali paused, looking at her audience. Peter and Peggy still looked confused, but curious, and each panda was now looking at their markings with wonder. She continued:  
  
"They where white all over." Cali drew several more white pandas on the wall, and then paused for a second, before going on..  
  
"But an evil sorcerer foresaw the intelligent pandas as perhaps one day ruining his plans for world conquest.."Cali stopped and gulped, then drew a hooded figure, hovering over the pandas.  
  
"Mondraggor?" Chesty gasped.  
  
Cali nodded; she looked as though she was in pain. But she continued drawing: Next was a small pyramid.  
  
"Mondraggor was after this-the pyramid of power, which would later shatter into many small pieces. Whoever reassembled the pyramid had great, great power. Mondraggor was desperate in his search for it. But in the meantime, he planned to do something about the pandas that may possibly keep him from getting the pyramid pieces."  
  
She then drew a picture of a leopard, complete with sharp fangs.  
  
"I don't like this story," Timothy pulled his red cap down over his eyes.  
  
"Mondraggor sent a leopard after a family of pandas, that where living together peacefully."  
  
Cali's next drawing was of a girl.  
  
"There was a young girl that lived nearby; she had been watching the pandas from afar. When she saw the leopard approaching them, she at once, picked up a rock and threw it at the leopard. This stopped the leopard, surprising him, and the pandas quickly got away, and got to safely hiding in a cave."  
  
"Oh, good," Timothy sighed, relieved, daring to peek from underneath his hat.  
  
"Then what happened?" inquired Chesty.  
  
Cali looked down at her feet, then took her drawing stick, and crossed out the picture of the girl.  
  
"The girl wasn't fast enough for the leopard."  
  
Her audience was silent, just staring at Cali and her strange drawings. Timothy removed his hat.  
  
"The pandas attended her funeral. To honor her bravery, they wore cloth wristbands that where dyed black, and when the pandas started to cry, they wiped there eyes, thus making the dye run, and leaving their eyes black. As they hugged and consoled one another, the dye got around their middle, and finally, after the funeral, Mondraggor's laugh was heard, and the pandas covered their ears from the dreadful sound, in the process, getting the black dye on their ears."  
  
As Cali told them this, she filled in the white panda drawings with the appropriate markings. She looked at the pandas now in front of her, and saw that both Timothy and Algernon where crying, wiping at there eyes the way she had just described in her story moments ago. Except these pandas already had their black markings. Chesty was crying as well, but not as openly as his friends. He pawed at his eyes, pretending he had gotten dirt in them.  
  
"Well," Chesty sniffed. "That's quite a story." The other panda nodded, and looked sadly at their own markings.  
  
Just like Chesty, Peter tried to hide the wetness in his eyes, but Peggy didn't.  
  
"What a sad story! I never knew..," Peggy looked at her panda companions, as she wiped her tears away.  
  
"But Cali, what does this have to do with you?" Peter asked, in spite of all of the tears.  
  
Cali looked at him.  
  
"The Pyramid is very powerful..." 


	5. The Pyramid

Pandamonium, the Panda Myth, Chapter Five: The Pyramid  
  
Cali reached into her jeans pocket, and from it, she produced a small piece of the pyramid, to the other's surprise.  
  
"It can do many things-it lives, and it listens. It can predict the future. It can even bring somebody into the past, or into the future, if needed." Cali paused.  
  
"Wait a second now, are you saying you're not from our time?" Chesty frowned.  
  
"Oh, no-I am from your time-"Cali held the pyramid with both of her hand as she spoke, it seemingly illuminating her face in the dark cave.  
  
Mondraggor's familiar laugh was heard then, the three pandas covered their ears the way the white pandas had done in Cali's story.  
  
"Mondraggor's coming," Peggy whispered in a panic.  
  
"Cali! Hide that pyramid piece," hissed Peter. But Cali ignored him. She pointed to her dusty drawings behind her on the cave wall.  
  
"I was that girl. I was sent to help the pandas. And helped them I did, I saved them from the leopard-"The group stared at her, she seemed to be- glowing? No, not glowing, but fading.  
  
"W-what do you mean?" asked Timothy. "How could you if.."  
  
But Cali was gone. The five where silent upon realization, and just stared at the spot where she stood only a moment before.  
  
"Look," Chesty noticed the pyramid piece she had been holding, was now in the spot where she once was, and picked it up.  
  
"She left this for us," and Chesty gave it to Algernon, for his panda pouch.  
  
"We better get going," Peter said, after a moment. "We still have a long ways ahead of us."  
  
"I just wish we could thank her for the pyramid," Peggy said softly.  
  
The three pandas lagged behind a little, not speaking much, but all thinking about the story Cali had told, about how pandas got their markings.  
  
Mondraggor's evil laugh was still heard in the distance as the group moved on.  
  
Back in the cave, the drawings on the wall remained the same, except that a new one was added- a girl, high above in the sky, smiling and looking peacefully down below on the pandas. 


End file.
